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IS SHANE BATTIER THE X-FACTOR? Battier has joked that Miami's Big Three garner enough attention that the Thunder forget he's even on the court, and he's been making them pay. He had a 13-point first half in Game 1 before the Heat seemed to be the ones forgetting about him, and he was even bigger with five 3-pointers in Game 2. None was bigger than one he banked-in with the shot clock running down and the Thunder within 87-83. He called it a "very fortunate bounce" but Miami will definitely take it -- and keep going back to him if Oklahoma City doesn't guard him.
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CAN THE HEAT STOP KEVIN DURANT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER? No one else has been able to do it consistently this postseason, but Miami got just enough stops to get by in Game 2. The Heat were able to get him in foul trouble but Durant played with five fouls for the final 10 1/2 minutes, scoring 16 points in that span. He has only fouled out twice in his five-year career, so that's an unlikely option. Instead, it'll fall on Battier and James -- and maybe the law of averages -- to slow Durant's inhuman pace of 16 1/2 points per fourth quarter in the series.
[Associated Press;
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